


It's Not A Bad Little War

by myracingthoughts



Series: Alone's The Only Way I've Ever Known [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Character Death, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, SHIELD, Secrets, Slow Burn, Swearing, The Avengers (2012) Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23397997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myracingthoughts/pseuds/myracingthoughts
Summary: [Complete]A unique assignment brings Dr. Danielle Fisher to SHIELD's NYC headquarters. Thrust into a world of aliens, magic and demigods, she'll discover that secrets don't stay kept for very long. Especially hers.A tale of broken trust, finding purpose and making connections.Part 1 of a larger series.
Relationships: Avengers Team & Original Female Character(s), Clint Barton & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Alone's The Only Way I've Ever Known [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1683040
Comments: 2
Kudos: 55





	1. One

** April 2012 **

A cold steel desk. A sound-proof room. The scent of bleach. Keycards, identification lanyards, and the particular sound of armed agents pacing the hallways.

This was basically home for Danielle Fisher. Or, at least, the closest thing she's had to one in a long time.

That said, today was a little different.

Today, she was plucked from her office with just three words ("Come with us.") and spirited to this dimly lit interrogation room. At least, she thought it was an interrogation room. The two armed agents at the solitary exit door, all clad in black tactical gear, standing right next to the one-way glass wall hit that point home.

She didn't even know this building had this many sub-levels.

The stern-looking man with an eye patch and the blue-eyed man with a kind face sitting across from her were just the cherry on top of this mildly terrifying experience. She eyed the small stack of manila file folders they were flipping through. A 4x6 flitted out of one of them before hastily being shoved back in a pile.

Was that a candid photograph? Did they have someone tailing her?

"Miss Fisher."

Fury broke the silence.

"How have you been enjoying your time with SHIELD?"

She stifled a smile and sat a little straighter in her chair before answering, having an inkling of where this was going.

"I feel like I've been doing good work, and the team's been great at getting me on-boarded and operational."

She paused, looking at them to see if that was the answer they were looking for.

"But I get the feeling you think there's more that I can offer," she added. She drummed her fingers along the metal table before starting again. "By the way," Tilting her head towards the armed guards, "Is this what a normal annual review feels like, or did you roll out the red carpet just for me?"

Fury didn't even crack a smile, but Coulson hid a chuckle behind a cough.

"Miss Fisher, I think we both know there's much more to be done here at SHIELD," Fury replied quickly, as though he'd been using this phrase frequently lately. "But SHIELD isn't just here, and you and I both know it's not just about the people in this building."

She grew a little impatient at the lack of direct answers. A common theme at SHIELD, it seemed. Threading two of her fingers through her coffee mug's handle, she took a sip and tapped her fingers along the ceramic absentmindedly.

"I think what Director Fury is trying to say," Coulson piped in, and her gaze snapped to him, "Is that a new opportunity just popped up, and we'd like you to head up your division. We think it's time to move you out of D.C."

The young brunette's heart skipped a beat at the thought of travel, but she tried her best to keep her body language neutral.

Setting down the mug, she took a pause and asked, "Where am I off to? London? Tokyo?"

"New York."

As soon as the words left Fury's mouth, Dani's mouth tightened into a thin line, and her eyebrows narrowed. All thoughts of keeping herself neutral in this conversation went out the window at those two words.

Leaning towards the two men across the table, she asked plainly, "Did Stark put you up to this?"

Neither of the men so much as twitched at the question, but both noticed the brunette had a fire behind her eyes. She stared them down, unconvinced that Tony hadn't had a hand in this whole thing.

It was too convenient.

Shifting in his seat, Fury leaned forward in his chair to match her stance.

"You've been doing some good work here, Fisher," Fury said in about as sincere a voice as possible. "It's time for the next phase of SHIELD, and I want you to lead the transition in your department."

"And that department just so happens to be in New York?"

"For now," Fury replied without flourish. Leaning back, he crossed his arms over his chest and switched back into his usual tone, "This is uncharted territory for all of us, Miss Fisher. I thought you enjoyed a challenge?"

She smiled, fire quelled and placed her hands in her lap.

"Of course," she replied as if it was the only answer to that question. "It's basically in my blood."

"Well, we'll have to update your security clearance officially, but this should get you up to speed with our little project," he tossed all but one of the manila folders on the desk her way. She assumed it was her file still firmly under his fist.

"There's a lot of homework for this one," Coulson added with a lopsided grin.

Fury continued, "I'll be your lead as you get up to speed, but once you're on-site, you'll report to Coulson." He glanced at his watch, and his forehead creased before adding, "Take a week off to get your things together so we can ship them to the NYC office."

"Noted," She grabbed the folders tightly, fighting to urge to leaf through them. "Thank you, sir."

Coulson carefully watched her face as she slipped the folders under her left arm, white knuckles a dead giveaway for the nerves she tried to conceal. She rose from the table, pushing her chair back and pausing as Fury swept up his own folder. He had gotten up from his chair and started to make for the door before he stopped.

"Anything else, Miss Fisher?" He asked, looking back at her as she buttoned up the blazer on her grey suit.

She smirked, something inside her needing to have the last word in this confusing exchange.

Smoothing down the fabric of the suit that allowed her to blend in with the hundreds of agents in the building around her, she replied.

"Actually, Director, it's  _ Doctor _ Fisher."


	2. Two

** May 2012 **

Dani’s week off turned into 12 hours overnight.

She didn’t know what to expect when she received a call from Coulson at 1 AM. Double-taking at the caller ID, she quickly grabbed the phone (almost dropping it on the carpet below in the process) and put it to her ear. Operating on no sleep, her brain was suddenly firing on all cylinders and her heart pulsed in her ears.

Were they revoking the offer? She wondered.

Instead, in his I’ m-sorry-to-have-to-do-this-to-you way, Coulson told her to pack an overnight bag with essentials and report to HQ at 6 AM for debrief and take-off. The rest of her belongings would be loaded and shipped to her New York quarters by professional movers in the coming days.

She eyed the manila folders stacked in a neat pile on her bedside table as she listened to him. She hadn’t had a chance to look at them yet. She thought she’d have a whole week, but now she was flustered and feeling like she was missing something. Over the phone, his voice was level, but she could tell something had gone seriously wrong if they were moving  _ her _ this quickly between the timing and the context. She wasn’t even an agent.

What did they need her in New York for so badly?

Coulson hung up, and it took a couple of seconds for her brain to process what just happened. Sighing and pulling her hair into a bun at the top of her head, she glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 1:34 AM. No point in sleeping now, not that she would have been able to anyway. She hopped out of bed, grabbed a carry-on and her leather work bag out of the closet, and worked.

Looking around at her small studio apartment, she hoped whatever movers would be packing her suite wouldn’t judge her on her belongings. Truth be told, she didn’t have a whole lot.

She wasn’t a sentimental person, and she never bought things just to have them, preferring function over fashion. In fact, her apartment still looked like she had just moved in, even though it had been 10 months since she landed in D.C. Bare walls, still coated in white contractor paint, a couch, a TV mounted on the wall, a bed, and a couple cooking utensils. Besides the wine rack on the kitchen counter, that’s all that was visible.

No framed photos, no mementos, not even any magnets on the fridge.

For most of her life, Dani moved around a lot, so a sense of permanence or “home” wasn’t something that came naturally to her. Some habits were bound to stick after almost two decades of bouncing from town to town. On the bright side, her restless childhood paved the way for being comfortable with change, perhaps even excited by it.

It wasn’t exactly normal in her industry to move around a lot… But when it came to SHIELD, there was no such thing as normal.

Sliding open her closet door, she flicked through, looking for 2-3 work-safe outfits: Pant suit, skirt suit, dress pants, blouses and blazers. One to two of each was sitting on the rack, just enough to not be repeating looks every week, but it basically made up her uniform. She grabbed a couple of pieces, a white coat with a SHIELD emblem, and one of her workout kits from the end of the rack and started rolling her clothes up to pack.

She stared at her open carry on for a minute, wondering how many other people got a similar phone call this morning.

If she was being mobilized, what about the rest of the team?

She was pretty far from a field agent, so while she worked extra hours here and there, she rarely took after-hours calls. Her fingers itched to shoot a few quick texts to some coworkers, but if things were as bad as they looked, they would definitely have gone dark by now.

Back to packing, her least favourite activity.

A pair of all-black runners and flats made their way into her luggage, while a sensible pair of heels sat on the floor. She looked for an outfit for the flight, settling on a layered look in case of the brisk spring weather. Laying it on the bed next to her packed luggage and laptop bag, she hopped into the shower before spending the next three hours pouring over the folders, hunched over them on her bed. It reminded her of her days back at USC pulling back-to-back all-nighters.

It was mostly personnel profiles, medical histories, some she had already seen as regular clients during her time at SHIELD, others quite surprising. She grabbed some sticky notes from her laptop bag and scrawled some thoughts and questions on some of the files.

Her alarm went off at 4:45 AM, breaking the trance she found herself in. Dani looked down at the strewn manila folders on the bed and quickly got up to stuff them into her laptop bag before she forgot. It was 5:00 AM by the time she walked out the door, having swept the apartment three times for any signs of anything important (or embarrassing). She was just an elevator and a short walk away from the flight deck, but she had to stop by her office and grab some things.

Most of the upper-level medical staff lived on-site, both for ease and emergency situations. It was a blessing and a curse. She’d been living inside the Triskelion bubble for so long she had never really wanted to have a life outside of it.

She stepped off the elevator and turned the corner toward the medical wing.

Whatever she was expecting the office to be like at five in the morning on a Monday, this was not it. It looked like all hands on deck. The office was a flurry of voices, a mix of hushed whispers and booming commands overhead. People in full tactical gear were pacing the hallways and checking offices, and everyone, even the usually stone-faced physicians, had a little worry behind their eyes.

“Well, this is new,” she mused to herself as she beelined for her office, rolling her carry-on behind her.

An agent was standing outside her door, waiting for her.

“Agent Rollins,” she greeted with a cautious smile that he returned.

She was always a little uneasy when it came to the STRIKE team. They had the fewest reported injuries on the whole roster and the most scars.

She wasn’t sure if it was personal, or if they were just so dedicated to their work, they didn’t want to be pulled off the field. Either way, it was something she had been trying to work on during her time here.

“Hey, Doc. You’re early,” he said, opening the door for her.

“Just had to grab a couple of things before we fly out,” she replied before setting down her luggage and heading straight for her cabinets.

He stayed in the doorway as she rifled through her things for some paperwork, grabbing her laptop, a small first aid kit (just in case), and her spare white coat. Rollins watched as she zipped up the luggage and righted it. She met his gaze and gave a soft smile.

“What a day, huh?”

“And the sun isn’t even up yet,” he quipped. “Ready to go?” She nodded. “Want me to take anything for you?”

“That’s sweet, but there isn’t a whole lot,” she said, looking down at the carry-on.

Rollins escorted her down the hallway and into the elevator, waving a black badge at the control panel to head down to the flight deck.

“Have you been briefed yet?” He asked, breaking the silence.

She shook her head, “Agent Coulson’s saving it for the plane ride.”

He whistled and gave a sympathetic half-smile, “You’re in for a doozy, Doc.”

The brunette looked at him sideways, and her heartbeat started to creep into her eardrums again, but she settled her mouth into a firm line, not wanting to give him the reaction he seemed to be looking for. He waved her off the elevator and flagged the two agents standing outside a waiting Quinjet before giving her a mock salute and closing the elevator doors.

She stopped to breathe, trying to straighten herself out before Coulson dropped whatever bomb he had for her.

After quickly counting her bags, making sure her skirt wasn’t riding up, and pulling a loose strand of hair back into her bun, she turned and walked towards the team at the ramp’s base. Coulson, clad in aviators and a grey suit, was waiting with a smile.

“Doctor Fisher, I hope you got some rest?”

She gave him a look, eyebrows askew and gripped her laptop bag a little tighter.

“You and I both know neither of us has slept since that phone call, Agent Coulson.”

He tilted his head and conceded, “I guess I deserve that. Ready for the debrief?”

One of the agents grabbed her carry on and loaded it into the Quinjet. She followed as Coulson motioned to a pair of seats; she took the one facing the ramp as she finally asked him, “So, what does this have to do with the files I got?”

He chuckled, buckling himself into his seat. She mirrored him, spending a little too long on the clasp with her slightly shaky hands.

“I was hoping to have a little more time with the Director to brief you on this whole thing and have a smooth transition,” Coulson admitted with a bit of a grimace. “But he’s a little tied up right now. Long story short, we found Captain America, he’s alive,” Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. “Yeah, that one wasn’t in your files, sorry.”

This wasn’t at all the type of news she was expecting. It also didn’t answer her question.

He continued, “We’re enacting the Avengers Initiative, and we need you on board to help oversee the team’s wellbeing.”

Dani nodded, still feeling like there was more to the story. The pilot behind her radioed in to check on status, but she didn’t notice. All of her focus was on the man sitting across from her.

“So what’s the threat?”

He looked at her expectantly.

She clarified, “Why enact the Avengers Initiative now?”

“The Tesseract, as you’ll read in these files,” he handed her another folder, “is a pretty important artifact. SHIELD was guarding it while a team led by Eric Selvig researched it,” he paused a little as if gauging her response so far. “As of last night, the Tesseract is in the hands of a demigod, stolen.”

She still wasn’t precisely following, but she tried to keep a straight face. She looked at him expectantly, knowing there was more still. Gods and monsters were the new ‘normal’ at SHIELD (if there ever was one), so that couldn’t be the kicker. Rollins wouldn’t have had that jab at her otherwise.

Coulson cleared his throat, took off his sunglasses and gave her the same sympathetic look Rollins had, maybe with a little more sincerity. Her grip got a little tighter on the armrests. The words came out of his mouth as the wheels on the Quinjet left the tarmac,

“Agent Barton’s been compromised.”

And Dani’s heart dropped into her stomach.


	3. Three

The flight was a short one but felt like an eternity for Dani.

She wasn’t a nervous flier, but after learning one of her coworkers — no, one of her friends — was out there in trouble, her stomach was in knots.

It took her at least five minutes to notice her frantic foot tapping as she read through the latest file. She was too busy digging through the paperwork, trying to find some inkling of why this had happened to Clint, never mind what the hell a Doctor of Physical Therapy could even offer a team like the Avengers.

She couldn’t keep her thoughts straight and found herself hunched over the stack of folders in her lap, reading the same line over three times to get it to sink in.

“You haven’t asked me where we’re going yet.”

The brunette’s head popped up so fast her pen clattered to the floor, and the loose strand in her bun popped out again. Coulson was still sitting across from her, now with a bemused expression, undoubtedly trying to add a little levity to the situation.

“I assumed we were heading to the office. Should I not have…?” She let her voice trail off and looked at Coulson intently while she reached down for her pen.

“Let’s call it a not-so-optional side quest,” he said. “A pick-up, a drop off, and then we’ll be on our way.”

“To the office?”

“To your new office,” he corrected vaguely. “For the time being.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but the corners of her lips lifted into a faint smile. Coulson looked pleased with himself; his goal of lightening the mood a success. Dani closed the folder in her lap and capped her pen, having overheard the pilot communicating with ground control. She looked over her shoulder past the seat she was strapped into and saw the telltale Manhattan skyline.

“Looks like New York to me,” she said to Coulson. “At least from what I can see.”

He chuckled at her comment while she started packing away her paperwork. Her hands were shaking slightly, and it took her longer than it should have to get the folders to fit in her bag. She tried to take a couple deep breaths to calm herself down.

“Spent a lot of time in the city?” The Agent across from her asked, breaking her out of her train of thought.

“Some. You?”

“Not as much as I’d like,” he admitted. “I don’t remember the last time I wasn’t here for work.”

She folded her hands in her lap, checking to see if her hands were still trembling. Thankfully stilled, she offered, “It’s been a while for me too.”

She was glad he didn’t really expect her to give a detailed answer. She was consciously tightlipped on topics outside of work and her life in D.C., even to those closest to her. And while Coulson knew a lot more about her than she would ever reveal to him in person (she knew SHIELD files were quite thorough), he would never push her on topics. It made it easier to talk to him, not having to worry about proving herself, saying too much, or getting caught in lies by omission.

It was safer for her, for everyone around her, that she kept everything close to the heart. She had to protect herself, but most of all,  _ them _ . At the end of the day, compartmentalization was the key to her sanity and wellbeing in this industry.

It was a smooth landing, and once parked, Dani and Coulson gathered their things and rolled down the ramp towards a black SUV parked on the almost empty tarmac. A jingle of keys and the click of a button later, the car unlocked and sprang to life. After loading up and closing the trunk, the blue-eyed man opened the passenger door for her.

“Always a gentleman,” she quipped with a smile.

In the driver’s seat, he popped on his aviators and started off. They kept the conversation light. He offered some easy office banter, and random facts from his New York travels to keep her distracted. It didn’t entirely work. She found herself getting lost in thought in the lulls, staring out the window and wondering where exactly he was taking her.

“So, we  _ are _ going to the office?” She said, perplexed as familiar buildings came into view.

“Just for a few hours. I need to pick up some things and get your security clearance set up. You know how long these things take.”

She sighed. He was right, she did. She unbuckled herself from the passenger seat and was about to grab her luggage when he interrupted her.

“Leave your bags,” he added as she started towards the trunk.

She raised an eyebrow but didn’t question him as they headed into the building.

It was actually several hours and two full meals before Coulson and her hit the road again. Dani had picked up a standard-issue black and grey SHIELD uniform, a very official-looking lanyard, and more paperwork than she knew what to do with. She still hadn’t slept - that was starting to catch up with her. She was also no closer to figuring out where they were going next, though she had a suspicion.

“So, is it a long drive, or?”

He didn’t answer, merely kept looking ahead at the road. Dani sighed and followed his gaze, realizing it was already dark out.

High rises and skyscrapers impeded her view of the night sky, but Dani didn’t mind. There was something comforting about the sprawling city, something safe to her. Before she knew it, they were cruising down 7th, and Coulson finally decided to speak up.

“So, any ideas?” He asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Great. Dani was right.

She rolled her eyes as he turned onto 42nd and entered an underground parking lot.

“We could have walked,” she replied tersely.

While she hadn’t ever seen it in person, she knew precisely what building this was and who would be waiting for them. And she could bet he wasn’t going to be thrilled about their visit.

She sighed and unbuckled her seatbelt once the SUV was safely parked. He grabbed a black folder from the back seat and headed for the lobby. He was a few paces ahead of her on his phone, in what sounded like an unsuccessful conversation, but they both entered the elevator without issue. Dani noticed he didn’t press any buttons, but it started going up anyway.

The doors finally swung open to a modern floor to ceiling view overlooking Manhattan, all its lights and bustle.

Coulson walked out of the elevator first. Tony Stark blinked at him, utterly oblivious to the other elevator passenger as he looked up from his phone.

“Security breach.”

“Mr. Stark,” Coulson started, walking towards him.

“Phil, come in,” Pepper Potts greeted from the couch with a wave, crystal champagne flute in her grasp.

“Phil? His first name is Agent-” Tony stopped dead in his tracks, realizing there was another person in the room. “-And who…”

“Dani!” Pepper beat Tony to the punch and scurried around the couch to greet her, flinging her arms around the brunette.

Surprisingly, her glass of champagne was still fully intact.

Dani gently returned the hug, ears burning slightly at the exuberant welcome. Tony was still across the room, feet planted in front of Phil and staring at her like he was processing the whole scene. She could tell Tony was trying to think of something to say. He always had something to say.

He settled on something neutral as he walked towards her, “How long’s it been, kid?”

“Since Christmas -”

“- And you don’t even bother to come by during spring break!”

OK, not so neutral.

“Tony, I’m not in school anymore,” Dani replied with an eye-roll.

Despite their exchange looking cold from the outside, she could tell Tony was concerned. He often wore his eye-bags like a badge of honour, but she could read how tired he really was. His body language was tense, but that was completely understandable considering the circumstances. It was after hours, Coulson had brought her as a human shield (she assumed), and they were about to loop him into this whole Avengers fiasco.

She also knew this kind of banter was about as close as Tony Stark got to affectionate and caring, at least in front of people, so she accepted his faux snide comments with a generous serving of salt.

“What are you doing here with Phil?” Pepper chimed in.

“Just along for the ride,” she replied with a small smile.

“Actually, she’s starting a position here in New York,” Coulson interrupted. “We’re just on our way to get her set up, but I needed to drop this off for you,” he added, trying to hand the black metal folder to Stark.

“You move to the big city, and you don’t even call,” Tony said to Dani in a scandalized voice.

“It literally happened this morning. Stop stalling and take the thing, Tony,” Dani sniped before she could stop herself, done with his tele-novella style antics. She looked down at her watch, “We don’t have time for this.”

_ There _ it was. The stone-cold persona she had to adopt to cut through the bullshit. Tony brought it out of her like no other.

“And neither do you, Mr. Stark. There’s a lot for you to go over,” Coulson added quickly, but Tony was already opening up the folder, moment quashed.

He passed Dani his champagne flute, which she carefully set down on a nearby table as he opened it up to reveal a screen. He placed it onto a console across the room before calling Pepper over. Dani and Coulson looked on from in front of the elevator as the pair seemed to be in quiet conversation.

“This seems pretty serious,” Pepper mused in a low voice. “What is all of this?”

“This is this,” Tony flicked his fingers across the screen, and individual files projected themselves across the room, displaying some of the same SHIELD files Dani had been going over this morning.

The pair shared concerned looks. Pepper reached over to give Tony a hug, gripping his arm a little tighter than she meant. Tony seemed to understand, and after some hushed discussion between the two, they looked somewhat satisfied with their decision. Tony’s hand dropped from Pepper’s arm to her hand, giving a light squeeze.

Dani felt intrusive looking on at their moment. Her heart hurt a little as she looked on, but she didn’t want to dwell on why.

Especially not in front of her boss.

“It looks like you have a lot of homework, so I’m going to take the jet to D.C. tonight,” Pepper said to Tony as he stared up at the files projected in front of him, mesmerized at the scope and detail of the files. She then looked back at Phil and Dani, “Any chance you’re heading by LaGuardia?”

Coulson smiled, “No problem, we can give you a lift. It’s on the way.”

Not that Dani had any idea where it was on the way  _ to _ .


	4. Four

“So, how have things been with you?”

Pepper looked at her from the SUV’s back seat, eyes wide with a soft, caring smile. Dani smiled to herself at her concern before looking back to meet her gaze.

“It’s been good, Pepper. Honestly, I’ve really been enjoying my time at SHIELD.” She swiftly added, “And I’m not just saying that because my boss is sitting in the car next to me.”

The three laughed, but to Dani, it felt forced. There was so much going on that she felt like her head was swimming. She was making jokes just to shrug off how she felt because thinking about everything that was going on made her skin itch.

Clint was compromised. A big scary artifact was in the hands of Thor’s adopted nuisance of a brother. She was moving again. Alone, again. And to top it all off, she didn’t even know where she was going next.

“We miss you,” Pepper started while Dani stifled a yawn in the front seat. “Tony misses you, even though he’d never admit it.”

There was that pang of pain in her heart again. Pepper was going right for the heartstrings.

Dani sat there dumbstruck, the two worlds that she tried so hard to keep separate were colliding in front of her. The lack of sleep was getting to her, and it was getting way too hard to hold back emotions. There were so many thoughts inside her head that she was ready to break down, overstimulation of the worst kind. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes when she normally would have easily been capable of keeping them at bay.

She did not need this right now.

Jaw clenched, she forced both her tears and thoughts back, looking at Pepper. She gave her a small nod, unable to form words without accidentally letting something slip. She couldn’t afford to be human right now.

Pepper cleared her throat with wide eyes, getting the hint, and changed the subject.

“Well, I hope you’ve been doing things besides throwing yourself into your work. Phil does let you have a bit of a life, right?” Pepper playfully chided them both.

“I think she’ll be just fine, Pepper,” Coulson quipped to fill the impending silence, and with a wink added, “I’ll make sure of it.”

The brunette was still silent and stone-faced, lost in thought. She had friends (when they weren’t on missions), and sometimes they went out for dinner and drinks, but it was far from a typical work-life balance. Being employed at a counter-terrorism and intelligence agency meant she couldn’t really vent about her 9-5, even with coworkers. Especially since she was in the medical wing.

And especially  _ now _ .

If she thought she had to be tight-lipped about what she was working on before, it was about to get even more strict taking care of a team of Avengers.

She shifted her gaze out the window to distract herself from the circus going on in her head. LaGuardia was as busy as ever, even in the middle of the night. Coulson headed toward passenger drop off as Pepper went through her mental checklist in the back seat.

Dani turned in the passenger seat and looked back fondly at the strawberry blonde in her white linen shirt and work slacks. Their eyes met, and they exchanged smiles.

“We really do miss you,” she offered softly as if it was some kind of condolence for their short time together.

“I know,” Dani replied with as much of a smile as she could. “I hope D.C. treats you well.”

Coulson threw the SUV into park and hopped out, unlocking the trunk to collect the luggage. Dani got out too, turning to bring Pepper into the warmer hug she deserved. Dani might have been as bad as Tony was with expressing emotion, but she didn’t treat goodbyes lightly. She knew that sometimes it was the only kind of embrace you got.

“Be safe,” Pepper whispered to her in the embrace.

“You too,” Dani said, clutching her at arm’s length. “We’ll set something up when whatever this whole thing is pans out,” she chuckled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

The brunette suddenly felt like a kid shipping off to space camp… or war. Is that what this was?

“We’ll have to do something for your birthday,” Pepper agreed. She turned to Coulson, “Phil, take care of yourself. Thank you very much for the ride.”

“It was no trouble at all,” He said, handing Pepper her luggage.

She pulled him into a side hug and waved as she headed into the terminal. Dani waited until she was past the automatic doors and safely inside before turning to Coulson, suddenly breaking into another yawn. The adrenaline rush of all of the day’s unknowns was fading, and the lack of sleep was really catching up to her.

“And then there were two,” he quipped.

She stretched, “Where to next, boss?”

“Oh, I have one more stop,” he replied, and she visibly cringed before he added, “You should take the back seat, though. Try to get some sleep. You’ve been up for what, two days already?”

In this state, she wasn’t above sleeping in the car. She wasn’t any good to anyone if she couldn’t keep her eyes open, and she was already losing her hold on her thoughts and emotions. While she knew Coulson had managed to sneak in some sleep between meetings in the city, she still felt terrible.

“Yeah. I mean, I’m not exactly in my college days anymore,” Dani chuckled, “But are you sure? You won’t get lonely on the drive?”

She asked it with a smile, but both minds were already made up.

“Absolutely, hop in.”

And with Coulson’s express permission, she settled into the back seat and fell asleep before they even hit the freeway.

She woke to a conversation in the front seats. The sky was painted in hues of a just-rising sun as she rubbed her eyes and yawned.

Wait, a conversation?

Dani blinked her eyes into focus and realized there was someone — a rather large someone — sitting in the front passenger seat. She jolted up in the back seat, heart pounding as she quickly pulled her hair into the bun at the back of her head. Running her middle fingers under her lower lash line, she prayed she didn’t look like a raccoon.

She wished she could melt into the floor.

“Good morning,” Coulson greeted cheerfully, peering back at her through the rearview mirror. “How’d you sleep?”

She met his eyes and stared at him, still trying to will this into a dream. She hoped she hadn’t been snoring in the back seat while someone important was in the car.

“Uh, hi,” She said uncertainly. “I mean, I feel better?”

He chuckled, “That’s good. Steve, this is Dr. Fisher, she’ll be working with you and the rest of the team.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” Mystery passenger turned in his seat to look at her, hand outstretched. Dani could have died right there and then.

_ Steve _ evidently was Steve Rogers, Captain America. Captain America was sitting in the front passenger seat of the SUV she’d been sleeping in the back of for at least the last hour. Probably while snoring, even maybe drooling. Great. She was mortified.

She shook his hand, noting his firm grip.

“Captain,” she started, not even sure how to apologize for embarrassing herself, but she would try. “I’m so sorry for falling asleep back here.”

He laughed, broad smile lines cutting into his chiselled face. Dani realized she was spending a little bit too much time analyzing his expression, but who could blame her? He literally came back from the dead, looking like he stepped right out of a history textbook.

Her cheeks were suddenly much too warm, and her heart in her throat. She wanted to smack herself out of it. She refused to let her body give away the fact that she felt like a schoolgirl with a crush.

“No need for formalities, it’s Steve. And don’t worry, Agent Coulson told me you two have had a busy couple of days,” he said politely. “So what’s your role on the team?”

“Dr. Fisher is the head of physical therapy for the Avengers Initiative,” Coulson quickly filled in.

She was relieved at his quick response. She was still a little dazed.

“So I don’t want to end up in your office, got it,” Steve quipped with a smile.

Dani laughed, a genuine laugh, and looked down at her lap. She suddenly realized something was under her hands, covering her. A brown leather jacket was draped over her lower half like a blanket, much too big to belong to Coulson. She grabbed it and looked at the two men in the front seat wordlessly.

Steve was still turned in his seat, looking at her and spoke up with a sheepish grin, “Sorry, you looked like you were cold.”

Dani blushed even harder, ears burning at the thought of Captain America covering her sleeping form with his jacket. Swiftly recovering from her split-second daydream, she smiled and handed it back to him.

“Thank you, that was really nice of you,” she said in the most level voice she could.

She struggled to strike up a conversation with the relic in front of her. What’s off-limits when you’ve just been thawed from ice and have to process that 70 years have passed since you last saw the outside world? What a shock that must have been. Instead, she sat in the comfortable silence and looked out the windshield. It looked like they were approaching the airfield again.

“Are we taking a QuinJet to home base?” Dani asked, not wanting to let on that she still had no idea where they were going.

“Yeah,” Coulson replied. “Should only be about an hour once we’re up in the air. I’ll go over the mission with the Captain once we’re on board. You can feel free to try to grab some more sleep.”

Dani was pretty sure she couldn’t go back to sleep after that wake-up.


	5. Five

The view from the QuinJet was all ocean.

Dani, as she suspected, couldn’t sleep a wink once they were up in the air. Steve and Coulson were chatting, with the agent a little too excited to have quality time with the Captain. It made her feel a little less bad about how giddy she felt in the car. She left them to themselves, deciding to go over her notes instead.

Eventually, the men settled into a comfortable silence, Steve looking pensive and Coulson checking on the radio setup onboard. She could tell they were almost there, so she moved toward the cockpit to get a glimpse of where they were headed.

Off in the distance, she could see a flight deck floating in the middle of the ocean. More floors came into view as they got closer, and the pilots radioed back an all-clear as they started their descent. The landing was smooth, but Dani was in a hurry to get off, settled, and maybe sneak in a nap.

At this point, she’d happily settle for a couch.

“Thank you, gentlemen,” Dani said to the pilots as they lowered the ramp.

She walked down with her carry-on luggage rolling behind her. Steve and Coulson trailed, deep in conversation. She assumed the agent was explaining the ship situation to the Captain. The sun was shining, reflecting off ocean waves surrounding the massive ship. Shielding her eyes, and cursing herself for not bringing sunglasses, she quickly spotted a redhead on deck walking towards their QuinJet.

“Long time no see,” Natasha said to the brunette before sidling up to her and surveying her face. “Did you sleep at all?”

Dani sighed and shook her head in response, gently gripping her arm with a light squeeze. “How are you holding up?”

The redhead met her gaze with a more serious look and a hushed, “We’re going to find him. Don’t worry, it’s Clint we’re talking about.”

The fact that she didn’t answer her question didn’t get by Dani. She knew that Nat was more challenging to read than most, so she searched her eyes, somehow finding a flicker of the same anxiety she was facing. The spy squeezed Dani’s arm in return, and they exchanged a nod before Danni added, “That’s  _ why _ I am worried.”

“Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers,” Coulson introduced as they caught up to the pair.

Dani quickly removed her hand from Natasha’s arm, feeling like she had been caught in a moment. They’d have to finish their conversation later when there was time. Duty called.

Natasha also straightened up, looking at the approaching pair confidently.

“Hi,” She said, breezing by introductions with Steve before turning to Coulson, “They need you on the bridge. They’re starting the face trace.”

Coulson gave a curt nod to both Natasha and Steve, “OK, see you there.”

He stopped mid-step and turned to Dani with a smile, “Want to see your office?”

She nodded enthusiastically and waved goodbye to the other pair. She hoped Natasha wouldn’t scare Steve off.

They were a few yards from the door when Dani realized there was probably more to this ship than Coulson decided not to tell her. She could suddenly feel the ground shaking beneath her as he led her inside the ship. She gave the agent a slightly panicked look, and he chuckled.

“Oh, didn’t I mention?” She gave him the most fed-up look she could in return, knowing he had been stringing her along for two days now. “Welcome to the Helicarrier, it flies.”

She looked back to see the flight crew securing the planes while the rest of the team headed inside. They quickly strapped everything down, and Dani could feel the ship lift off from the ocean as they made their way through a dark hallway inside.

Could she even be surprised anymore? Gods, hundred-year-old men… and now, a flying HQ.

Yeah, sounded like a regular Monday.

“Medical is right by Banner and Stark’s lab. You know, just in case,” Coulson noted, pointing her down an empty hallway. “Your office is the third door on the left. Let me or any of the Agents in that wing know if you need anything.”

Before she could even ask, Coulson added one more thing.

“And yes, your office has a couch if you don’t want to sleep in the bunks.”

She could have hugged him.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Someone will be by in a few minutes to set up your comms, so keep an ear out,” Coulson instructed, tapping his own headset in his ear.

Dani gave him a firm nod and started down the hallway towards her office, passing by some empty patient rooms. She ran her fingers along the nameplate on the third door on the left and smiled. Pushing it open, she found a small office with an exam table, an attached bathroom and a love seat. Perfect.

She checked the cupboards to make sure she had everything she needed. An agent, introducing herself as Agent Price, stopped by to drop off her earpiece, giving some quick instructions that she could barely focus on. She felt bad for asking her to reiterate a couple points; she swore to her she wasn’t usually this loopy. Once alone, she managed to get it set up but decided to wait on unpacking the rest of her things in favour of a nap.

She was struggling to keep her eyes open.

Popping the earpiece in place just in case someone needed her, she took off her coat, hung on the back of her door and settled into the couch.

“Hostile apprehended and onboard.”

“Holy shit,” Dani woke with a start, jumping off the couch at the loud announcement in her earpiece.

Did they get him? Was it over already? She checked her watch and realized it had only been a few hours.

As soon as she looked up from her wrist, an entourage of SHIELD personnel in tactical gear walked past her door. It reminded her that she never closed the blinds of her office.

Awkward.

Walking up to the office door window, she could see they were escorting a lanky, long-haired man in modified cuffs. Loki. She guessed Coulson neglected to mention the holding cell was also down this hallway.

She waited for the group to pass before unlocking her office door and popping her head outside. She could see the lights on in the lab just across the hall and wondered if Dr. Banner was on board. She hadn’t had a chance to meet him yet. Tony was going to freak out, probably for all the wrong reasons.

“Team is back from active combat, no injuries to report,” she could hear Coulson in her ear. She didn’t even know they had left. “Stark is on board, though. Thought you might want to know.”

She sighed. So much for assuming SHIELD would be the one place Tony wouldn’t be able to interfere with her life. After the initial personality profile ruled him out for the Avengers Initiative, she was sure that he would be limited to a consultancy role.

Clearly, she was wrong.

Knowing she had a bit of time to herself, she took this opportunity to organize her things. Cracking open her laptop bag, she carefully placed the personnel files in the locked file cabinet in the bottom drawer. She put a pair of flats in there too, just in case, and realized she hadn’t changed into her uniform. She dug it out from her carry-on and quickly changed in the adjoining bathroom.

Well, now she looked the part, she thought to herself, looking at the SHIELD patch on her right arm. Something about the form-fitting uniform made her feel self-conscious and out of her element. Her stomach squirmed. What was she doing here? This wasn’t her.

With a sigh, she looked into the mirror at herself and tried to look confident. She worked hard to get here, she thought, trying to instil it in her own mind. She was going to do everything she could to prove to herself and SHIELD that she  _ deserved _ to be here.

She was just getting her white coat back on when a knock at the door brought her out of her head and made her turn towards the visitor opening her door. His wavy dark hair was streaked with grey near his ears, and in his hands was a metal tray with a sandwich, an apple, and a bottle of water.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Agent Coulson asked me to bring this over to you. Dr. Fisher, right? I don’t think we’ve met,” Dr. Banner said, standing in the doorway, “I’m Bruce.”

He had a hesitant smile on his face and seemed to be searching her face for a reaction. She quickly stood up and took the tray from his hands.

“Oh, that’s sweet. You didn’t have to do that. Thank you,” She set it down on her desk. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Banner. And really, Dani is fine!” She matched his smile. “I’ve read some of your work; it’s really quite remarkable.”

His hand rubbed the back of his neck, and his smile turned slightly, bashful, “Thank you, I appreciate it.” He looked a little more relaxed as he stuffed his hand into his front pocket, still leaning against the door. “How long have you worked with SHIELD?”

“Almost a year,” she replied. “They headhunted me straight out of my DPT, but I actually started at the Washington office. Have they been treating you alright?”

He nodded, “As good as can be expected. This is quite different from my last office,” he said with a chuckle. Dani tilted her head with a smile, and he explained, “I’ve been off the grid for the past few years.”

SHIELD has a way of finding what it needs; a darker undertone coloured her mental reply.

“Anyway, it was really nice to meet you,” Bruce offered after a moment of silence. “Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t,” A smile gracing my lips. “Thanks for lunch!”

And with that, Dr. Banner turned and let the door close behind him, leaving her to her lunch and her thoughts.


	6. Six

“Hey, stranger.”

Comms had been quiet for the last hour, so Dani nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice coming from her open door.

Nat chuckled at having scared her, slinking into the room and closing the door behind her.

“Nice office. Not as big as your old one, but at least you have a couch,” Nat said, plopping herself onto it and taking a look around. “How were your last two days? Because let me tell you, mine was a joy.”

The redhead looked a little too comfortable draped over the love seat, kicking her heels onto the armrest. She was still in full combat gear, knives and guns holstered throughout her uniform, and Dani assumed she had been on the mission to collect “the hostile.” Pulling her hands back to cradle her head, she looked about as tired as the brunette felt, unusual for the spy.

Had they not been in the middle of a mission, this scene wouldn’t have been uncommon. The pair, along with Clint, often caught up in her Triskelion office during their downtime, but with the current climate, this all felt slightly off.

Dani was impatient at Nat’s too-informal entrance. And considering the circumstances, she couldn’t bring herself to try and make small talk, so she gave her a pointed look in return instead. “Any news on this whole thing? I saw them dragging Loki into holding.”

The redhead bit her lower lip and shook her head, “Besides being a megalomaniac bent on enslaving humanity and wanting to take over the world, he didn’t really say much. Fury wants me to pull a Widow on him, see if he’ll give us something we can use.” Sitting up slightly, she scrutinized the doctor’s face and added, “Please tell me you managed to get some sleep.”

With a chuckle, Dani replied, “Yeah, right where you’re sitting. Managed to get a few hours, I think. I got woken up by Coulson over comms.” Unable to stop herself, and curious about the mission, she asked, “Were you out there when they brought Loki in?”

Nat offered a half-smile, “Yeah, just as a pilot. Did manage to catch Stark showing up and trying to steal the show, though.”

“Typical,” Dani scoffed, shifting in her seat. “Leave it to Tony to make an entrance while the world is at stake.”

“So, I’m assuming you’ve been avoiding him?” Nat asked in a knowing tone.

The doctor subconsciously crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair, putting some distance between them. Great, not only was she being judged for trying to keep away from that shit show but now she looked like a petulant child. She was so good at this whole interpersonal skills thing, she thought to herself sarcastically.

Bedside manner, sure, but conveying her own emotions, feelings and frustrations on a human-to-human level? No dice.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” the redhead settled after a moment of silence. “Well, he’s in a  _ great _ mood, let me tell you. You missed quite the fight.”

“With Loki?”

“With Thor, over Loki.”

Well, this was a new development.

Dani sat up in her chair, forearms leaning against her thighs as she figured there was a story here. And now that she was working with the Avengers, she assumed the details wouldn’t be off-limits anymore - not that Nat hadn’t thrown her a couple off-the-books bones before.

Nothing got in the way of a good story with Romanoff (especially with a little booze for social lubrication).

The brunette’s forehead creases multiplied, and she wasn’t sure she heard that right, so she clarified, “Sorry, you’re going to have to back this up for me. God of Thunder just shows up and bam, they fight?”

Nat chuckled at her enthusiasm, eyes glittering as she leaned towards the brunette and summarized.

“He wanted to deal with Loki on his own terms in Asgard, and of course, the boys ended up turning it into a dick measuring contest,” Nat replied, a little cruder than Dani needed to hear. “Thunder, lasers, levelled a forest, you know. Boys.”

The brunette stared at her incredulously as she rattled off the details as if they were nothing.

She was sure stranger things had happened to Nat at this point, and she’d heard some crazy stories during her time at SHIELD, but she couldn’t imagine herself retelling this tale as matter of fact as the spy just had.

“So, he’s on board?”

“Yep,” Nat replied, popping the ‘p.’ “And he’s just as ridiculously good looking as Clint described, in a Shakespearean kind of way,” she added, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Dani knew she was trying to lighten the mood, but her bringing up Clint was like a weight dropping into the pit of her stomach. It had always been the three of them together, so with the realization that it was only the two women in this small room, she felt like she was crashing back down to earth after their light-hearted banter. She felt selfish being able to share this moment with a friend when they didn’t even know that he was still…

She shook her head, not wanting to think like that.

“I hope Clint’s OK,” the brunette spoke quietly, looking down and toying with the ring on her right middle finger.

Dani could hear a shuffle as Nat shifted on the couch and scooted over closer to her, taking one of the doctor’s hands in hers. “You OK, Doc?”

How could she tell this badass SHIELD agent that she was a wreck between Clint’s disappearance, the move, and Stark’s presence on-board? She didn’t even want to admit it to herself. She was weak. She hadn’t even been on the ship twelve hours yet, and she had already convinced herself she shouldn’t be here at all. Dani looked up to meet her crystal green eyes, and her friend gave her the patented Natasha smirk.

“We’re going to get him back in one piece, I promise. Clint and I have been through a lot shittier missions than this,” they both laughed a little at that one. “And sure, this one might feature a demigod, but we’ll figure it out.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” the doctor confided, releasing her hand and returning it to her thigh. She tried to offer a watered-down explanation to keep Nat off her case, “Maybe it’s the lack of sleep, or I got too comfortable in D.C, but I’m not used to being like this anymore.”

“Human?” the redhead offered with a smile.

“Yeah, that,” she said with a dark chuckle. “How do people focus with all these  _ feelings _ ?” She joked, half meaning it.

Shifting the subject, she offered, “Have you met everyone else on the team?” She pressed, “Are they being nice?”

“I think so, besides Thor. Dr. Banner introduced himself earlier,” Dani mused. Remembering she had left Nat show Steve around earlier in the day, she asked, “What did you think of the Captain?”

“Ah, you have a thing for blonds. I got it,” Nat joked with a wink. Was she joking, though? “But seriously, I think him and Stark are going to butt heads. Too bad, he seems like a nice guy, I mean, there are worse people to work with,” she coughed what sounded like ‘Tony’ under her breath.

“I’d assume Avenging is different than being his fake personal assistant, Nat,” I managed to say with a smile.

“Sometimes I wonder,” Nat sat up a little straighter, smoothing out the pants of her jumpsuit with the palms of her hands. “Listen, I meant what I said, it’s going to be fine,” she assured the doctor, patting her knee. “But, I better get out there before Fury lives up to his name.”

“Give ‘em hell,” Dani said as the redhead got up to leave.

“Oh no, I’m going to play damsel in distress,” she said with a smirk. “My favourite.”


	7. Seven

“Dani, come with me.”

Hands were unexpectedly grabbing at her bicep, and Dani’s heart raced at the sudden intrusion. She stood up in a split second, trying to get out of the intruder’s grasp and figure out who the hell would storm into her office like this. She looked back to find Stark’s worried brown eyes looking back at her.

“Tony, what the hell are you doing? Let go of me,” his visible anxiety was rubbing off on her, and she was suddenly very concerned.

“No, I think it’s time you know what the hell you’ve gotten yourself into,” he said ominously, eyes wide and forehead creased. “Well, what we’ve all gotten ourselves into. You’re going to want to see this.”

He grabbed her hand, and she accepted it without a fight, shaken up by his appearance and that particular tone to his voice. This was the most serious he’d talked to her since… well, last time. That tone only meant one thing, something awful was happening. And while she was still mad at him for everything that did and didn’t occur within the last year of her life, she trusted him enough to know when something was wrong.

He led her across the hall and into the lab where Dr. Banner was already standing, arms crossed as Fury seemed to be interrogating him. A medieval-looking sceptre was lying cradled on the table, gem glowing blue.

“You’re supposed to be locating the Tesseract,” Fury said sternly.

Banner replied calmly, “We are. The model’s locked, and we’re sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we’ll have the location within half a mile.”

“Yeah, then you’ll get your cube back. No muss, no fuss…” Tony chimed in before adding, “What  _ is _ phase two?”

A gun clattered onto the metal table in the center of the room, breaking up the conversation. Captain Rogers was standing there with an angry look, “Phase two is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons.”

Dani suddenly tuned out, unable to process what was going on in front of her. She suddenly felt like an intruder herself and walked backwards toward the room’s exit as the three stared Fury down. She just stood there, looking between the four men, trying to figure out what the hell Tony had dragged her into.

“Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we’re making—“

“— I’m sorry, Nick. What were you lying?” Turning the screen at the head of the lab to show weapon blueprints, Tony gave Fury an incredulous look.

As if there weren’t enough people in the room, Thor and Natasha stormed in from the door to her left, looking like they had a mission of their own. Natasha didn’t seem to notice her standing in the back corner of the room. The brunette was suddenly feeling very small, like the conversation she was witnessing was way above her pay-grade.

“Did you know about this?” Bruce asked the spy in an accusing tone.

“You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?”

“I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed.”

“Loki is manipulating you,” the redhead said, clearly trying to reason with him.

Information overload. Wasn’t Loki still in lock-up? Dani tried to follow along, but this was a lot. Not even the information in her files would fill in all the gaps here. A little back and forth about batting eyelashes between Natasha and Bruce: she kept looking around, not believing what was happening in front of her.

“Well, I would like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to make weapons of mass destruction,” Banner said to Fury loudly, breaking Dani out of her daze.

“Because of him,” Fury was suddenly pointing to Thor.

Going on to explain something about aliens, invasions and being out-gunned, Dani was coming up empty on reasons why she should still be standing here, watching the implosion of the team she was supposed to be looking after. But she couldn’t seem to walk away. This was wrong, this felt wrong, but she had to know that something could be done about it.

“You forced our hand. We had to come up with something,” Fury defended.

“A nuclear deterrent, because that always calms everything right down.” Stark’s voice was back, dripping with anger as he looked at the Director.

“Remind me how you made your fortunes, Stark.”

The Captain was just about to chime in when Tony threw his hands up in front of him, “What a minute, hold on. How is this now about me?”

“I’m sorry, isn’t everything?” The Captain sniped.

“Seriously? You’re all sitting here expecting me to believe that this man, with these secrets, isn’t up to some nefarious shit?” Tony took a shuddering breath before he looked Fury in the eye. “You took my sister into your organization, assured me that she’d be safe with you, and you want to make  _ nuclear weapons _ ?” His hands all at once, pointing towards Dani, she was suddenly struggling to breathe.

“Sister?”

A couple voices chimed in on the sentiment and, following the directions of his arms, all eyes were on her. Her eyes were as wide dinner plates, heart beating so fast she could barely hear anything else going on in the room.

“Tony, what the fuck?” She hissed, charging toward him and shoving him back slightly.

Great, now she had taken his stupid bait and was putting on a show for the whole room. Everyone’s eyes were darting between the pair, trying to piece everything together.

“Oh, like I’m not allowed to care about my family?” His eyes were just as fiery as hers as he tried to grab her bicep again.

She shook off his hold, eyes narrowing, “Not when it serves you. I don’t just exist so you can conveniently win an argument, Tony.” She spat out the words, adding defiantly, “I told you, I told you I wanted to do this for myself, but you always have to do what  _ you _ think is best for the person, right?”

“Have you been reporting to Stark this whole time?” Steve asked her, blue eyes suddenly suspicious.

“What are you talking about?” Tony directed more at her than Rogers’ comment.

“SHIELD, Tony,” Dani tried to explain, voice raw with anger. “You swore you didn’t have anything to do with this job, snd here you are, making it very clear you’re the only reason I got here.”

“Dani, you’re family, I—“

A cacophony of voices was arguing around the room, louder than anyone could really process. She dug her fingers into her hair, digging her fingernails into her scalp as she tried to focus on what she wanted — no, needed — to finally get out.

“No. You don’t get to do that. I’m not even your real sister. I’m just a fucking bastard child Howard Stark tossed aside in the 80’s,” she chuckled bitterly, hot, angry tears starting to fill her eyes. “I paid to put myself through school, I didn’t ask you for a dime. I watched as you almost fucking died, and you didn’t even have the decency to tell Pepper or me, so no, you can’t use me as a pawn here!”

It felt like word vomit, spilling out of her mouth before she could consider the consequences. Dani didn’t want or expect a response. Nothing was going to fix this. The yelling was hurting her head, and she just had to open her big mouth and ruin any sort of trust she had with the rest of the team. She was embarrassed at her outburst, heat starting to creep into her cheeks at her joke of a life’s story being put on display for the whole team.

She turned to go, but before she could leave the room, Natasha grabbed her arm, giving her a squeeze and a pleading look.

“You knew,” Dani said in a voice just above a whisper.

She nodded, “It doesn’t change anything.”

Natasha’s head turned to face Fury, who had just addressed her; Dani couldn’t even focus on what he was saying, the realization that the spy had known the whole time hitting her harder than she thought it would.

“In case you need to kill me, you can’t,” Bruce’s voice broke her out of the thoughts in her head. “I know, I tried. I got low, I didn’t see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth, and the other guy spit it out.”

Eyes wide at the admission, she was instantly very aware of her heart thumping in her chest and how quiet the rest of the room suddenly was.  _ Too close to home. _ She felt like she was going to actually vomit now. Realizing she couldn’t take a minute more of this, she started again for her office door.

She felt it before she heard it, a sense of weightlessness as everything moved in slow motion. Glass shards flew through the air, littering the ground below her. Her right side slammed into the hallway’s wall, ribs hitting the rounded edge of her office door frame. It forced the breath right out of her lungs. She watched in horror as her vision got closer and closer to the jagged glass on the floor. She threw her forearms in front of her face, bracing herself for landing and heard the crunch as her body finally gave in to gravity.

Before she could process what was happening, she was being lifted again — this time by a pair of strong arms.

Instinctively, she linked her hands together behind the person’s head, trying to right herself and bring back feeling in her wobbling legs. Her vision was still blotchy, ears ringing. She was so close she could smell his aftershave and knew instantly who it was. Dani still had tears in her eyes from the exchange in the lab as she looked at the big blues, filled with concern.

“Hey, hey,” Steve said in a soft voice. “Can you stand? Are you OK?”

She nodded breathlessly, trying to right herself, but continuing to feel tremors from the unsteady QuinJet. She could see Tony from the corner of her eye looking on with a fearful expression, clearly trying to get the Captain’s attention. The corner of her lip quirked up at him as she held back the tears, trying to tell him to be safe. Tony seemed to understand, nodding at her.

“You should go help Tony,” she said to Steve, suddenly realizing she was still holding onto him and quickly let go. “I’m fine.”

He nodded and clutched at the walls as he jogged down the hallway with Tony.

She could hear people running through the hallway behind her, a flurry of burst pipes, falling debris and worried voices. Legs still jelly from the impact, she limped into her office, glass in her door blown wide open, reminding her of her earlier landing.

“Shit,” she hissed, looking down at her forearms.

The splintered glass was sticking out of her white coat, dark red beginning to bleed through the fabric. She needed to get them out and bandaged before the all-too-familiar lightheaded feeling set in. She opened a cupboard and grabbed a roll of gauze, tweezers and alcohol. She scrambled into her office’s bathroom and carefully peeling herself out of her jacket. The glass jingled as it hit the floor, but she knew there was still a lot more.

She took a soft towel and placed it in the sink before sterilizing the tweezers with the alcohol. The excess liquid soaked the towel below, and she immediately started getting to work. She tried to remove as much as she could through her SHIELD uniform, then peeling back that layer to get right to the skin. Stepping into the shower, she cleaned the area gently with water and soap before working with the tweezers.

The top half of her uniform was soaked as she stood mostly dressed under the steady stream of water, but Dani was too focused on the task. Once done, her tweezing hand still shaking slightly, she grabbed the small towel from the sink and pressed it into her skin. She whimpered, feeling the sting of alcohol, but that was good. At least she could feel.

She quickly turned off the showerhead and wrapped the wounds in gauze before quickly towelling herself off. She took one moment to herself, just a few seconds of leaning against the shower to let her brain take a physical inventory of herself. She could feel her forearms burning, her rib was starting to throb, and her heart was beating like it was trying to escape her chest.

If she was hurt, that meant others were too.

“Emergency personnel, radio in immediately for status,” Coulson’s voice shuddered slightly as his voice came through her earpiece.

She had forgotten she was wearing it, but her mind was already made up.

She pushed in the button on the device, “Fisher, active. Going to sweep for injuries and assist.”

Ignoring her aching body, she threw her uniform and white coat back on and grabbed her first aid kit from under the sink in her office. There were only so many physicians on board, and with a crew this size, they were going to need all the help they could get. All those months of SHIELD emergency preparedness training were going to go to good use today.

“Stay alert out there, Doctor. There’s been some damage to the ship,” Coulson replied over comms. “Be safe.”

She may not have been an Avenger, and she may not have any idea what was going on, but she would help, however she could. Her ears picked up a loud groan from somewhere in the ship.

Was that a roar?


	8. Eight

She tried to ignore all the hissing, groaning, smashing, and apparent roaring coming from different ends of the ship. First aid kit in hand, she walked up the hallway, further away from medical, dodging dangling wires and fixtures that used to be tucked into the ceiling. She was sure to stick her head into all the open rooms along the way. She found a couple of agents needing a quick patch-up in a storage room down the hall from her office.

Splint an injury, clean and stitch an open wound, check for concussions. It wasn’t open-heart surgery, but Dani felt like she was making somewhat of a difference. It only took her a couple of minutes to find some agents who needed to be bandaged up leaning against the wall further up the long corridor.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Fisher,” she introduced as she got down on her knees in front of the Agent, clutching his wrist and staring up at her from the ground.

“Agent Mendes,” he groaned tersely, but she was just glad he responded.

She looked carefully at his face, making sure his brown eyes were in focus and following hers. His tan skin was a little off in colour; he looked a little headed, but thankfully still alert.

“Let me take care of this glass and re-set your wrist, OK?” She asked as she took his hand into her own, gently feeling for any breaks.

He winced, but she couldn’t feel a break, so she started cleaning, breaking out her trusty alcohol and tweezers again. Mendes hissed as she began digging; she flashed an apologetic look but didn’t stop. The second agent was a couple feet away, observing her work while trying to get back on her feet.

“Do you need anything?” The other Agent finally asked Dani, having gotten onto her feet.

“No, ma’am,” the doctor replied, barely looking away from her task at hand. “Are you sure you’re OK? Do you want me to look at anything?”

She patted herself down, searching for any tears, rips or sore spots before shaking her head, “I’m going to head towards the war room.”

“If you see anyone injured, tell them to stay put. I’m going to make my way down,” Dani advised in the most authoritative voice she could muster.

The Agent nodded and started down the hallway in a wobbly gallop as she returned to her work.

“I’m going to count to three and shift it back into place, OK?” He likely already knew this trick, she said to herself, but he nodded in response. “One,” she swiftly pulled the bone back into place as he grunted. “You good?” She asked tentatively, and he nodded again, flexing his fingers with a wince.

“Are  _ you _ OK?” Agent Mendes said abruptly, looking at Dani in concern, motioning towards her coat sleeves.

Her heart skipped a beat as she realized they were still spotted with blood, lining the tears in the (now) off-white fabric. She quickly rolled them up, showing off the white gauze underneath.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” she replied softly as she finished binding his arm into place. “You’re going to want to get this looked at when this all blows over,” she added. “I’m not an MD.”

“Better than sitting here full of glass,” Mendes said with a chuckle, running his fingers over the bandage. “Thank you, Doc.”

She nodded and watched him get up off the ground, ready to step in to help if she needed to. He made it; a little off-kilter, but at least he was walking. He headed down the hallway leading to the war room, clutching his arm. She quickly packed up her things before heading in the same direction.

Her eyes darted around at a deafening sound coming from somewhere in the ship.

Was that gunfire?

It was hard to tell what was what in the dusty, smoky hallways, but she needed to make sure there wasn’t anyone else who needed help. She made it all the way to the war room, having checked all the spaces along the way for stragglers. She was just about to turn down the next hallway when a voice called out.

“Grenade!”

The ground shook under her feet, and she raced to get righted, leaning against the wall of the hallway. There were people scattered across the war room floor, some having fallen from the balcony overhead. Hill and Fury looking panicked as they pointed their guns at a window above the meeting area. An arrow flew overhead and into a computer.

“Clint,” she choked out.

She knew better than to run into active combat. She stayed in the hallway, just outside the door and watched as the people on the ground started to move, other agents coming over to check on them. Dani took a deep breath, relief flooding her at the sight as she headed down the opposite hallway seeking more people to help.

She was only a few yards from her previous position when she felt the Helicarrier stutter and lose some altitude. She clawed at the walls, trying to find something to steady her as she nearly toppled over. Clinging to a nearby ledge, she hoped Tony and Steve were working on the solution to the free-fall they were currently experiencing.

Otherwise, it may not be a  _ Helicarrier _ for much longer.

“All hands to crash stations immediately.”

The announcement sent a chill down her spine, and she half-hoped for a retraction, but she knew it wasn’t coming. Dani’s breath hitched in her throat, and she could feel the ground beneath her was dropping faster. She tried to keep herself level and wracked her brain, trying to figure out what the hell she was going to do. Agents were running in every direction, and she finally ended up following the flow of traffic into the war room.

She found Agent Hill trying to manage the team there, and they shared a worried look. It was the longest few minutes of Dani’s life as they all sat their helplessly, hoping to see the altitude number stop ticking down.

There was a groan from somewhere deep in the ship, an engine roared to life, and the rushing sensation stopped. The number on the screen held, and Hill let out a shuddering breath. As suddenly as it stopped, Dani was ready to spring back into action, helping out the rest of the medical team sweep through the room’s agents. She was just about to leave an agent at Hill’s side when a message came through the comms, in Fury’s gravely voice.

“Agent Coulson is down.”

Hill pushed away the medic attending to her split forehead, mouth agape. Dani couldn’t breathe, her body becoming stiff and frozen in place as she processed the words. Forgetting she was holding it, to begin with, her first aid bag clattered on the ground beside her. Ears ringing, she could hear a buzz of commotion around her, but couldn’t make out the details. She was just staring at the blue sky in front of her.

It felt like hours before she could feel someone’s hand on her shoulder, giving a comforting rub, but she knew it had barely been seconds. She looked up to see Agent Hill looking down at her.

“I’m sorry,” they were the only words Dani could form to say to the woman who had known him a lot longer than she had.

At the moment, it seemed like an absurd thing to say, meaningless, in fact, but Agent Hill shook her head and patted her back.

No words needed, she understood.

“I know this is bad timing, but I need you back in medical,” Hill said, her voice shaking slightly as she got back to business. “Romanoff picked up Barton. He’s going to need a full assessment, and I’d rather you do if since you know him… If you’re up to it,” she added, seemingly scrutinizing her face.

Presumably, for shock, she thought to herself.

The doctor nodded, eyes back on the ground at her waiting first aid kit before declaring it aloud, “Yeah. Yeah, I can do it.”

She’d be lying if she said was wasn’t feeling numb, and she may well have been in shock, but she knew it was better for her to take care of Clint than a stranger. And most of all, she was determined to not let her friend or her team down.

She snatched her bag from the floor and just focussed on putting one foot in front of the other as she navigated herself back to the medical wing. She got herself set up in the only exam room that wasn’t wholly trashed and set out what she’d likely need. Concussions, sprains, breaks, injuries; she went through all the possible scenarios in her head, trying to prepare herself for how her friend was going to arrive.

Maybe if she had asked Coulson where he was, if she had radioed in updates on status, perhaps she could have been there to help.

This whole thing just felt so fruitless. What had she contributed in her time here?

She couldn’t help Clint or Natasha, she’d managed to fight with her half brother in front of her colleagues, patch up a couple agents, sure, but then stood by as they not only almost crash-landed to earth, but also while her boss was sacrificing his life to save the whole human race.

The walls of the small room started to lean in on her.

She rushed out of it, leaning her forehead against the hallway’s wall, forearms by her ears, cradling her head. Trying desperately to stop the ship around her from spinning, all she could focus on was the throbbing between her temples. Big ragged breaths were coming out of her heaving chest, and she was starting to lose track of which way was up or down.

“Hey, it’s OK. Are you with me?” Dani could hear a soft, low voice on her left side and feel a hand placed between her shoulder blades. “Breathe in with me, OK?” She could hear them sucking in a breath, and she tried to do the same, but it shuddered. “Good, now breathe out.”

It came out as almost a cough, but after a few more guided deep breaths, the doctor looked over to see Natasha beside her.

She pulled her into a hug and let go of all decorum, sobbing into the redhead’s shoulder.


	9. Nine

It took a few minutes for Dani to come back down after the near panic attack.

In the meantime, the two agents escorting Clint’s limp body strapped him to the bed in the exam room. Dani could hear the telltale jingle of the restraint cuffs even from outside.

Natasha watched on protectively, angled to keep an eye on both the doctor and Clint. She never left her side, still as a statue, as the brunette’s breathing steadied into a normal rhythm. Dani wiped at her cheeks with her palms, trying to get rid of the evidence, but just ended up smearing the dirt, dust, grime (and probably blood).

“I don’t think he should wake up in there alone,” the doctor said abruptly, looking on at her friend through the glass in the door.

“I’ll sit with him. I’ll let you know when he’s up,” Nat offered with a steady voice. “You should try to clean yourself up. With how hard I hit him, he’ll be out for a bit.”

She nodded, looking down at the mix of grey, black and copper on her palms, streaking up into her forearms. She headed two doors down into her office, walking straight into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. She painstakingly peeled herself out of her coat and uniform, hissing at the throbbing sprouting from her side. She stood on her tiptoes and stared at the small over the sink mirror. She could tell that her ribs were already darkening into a pleasant shade of purple. Fingertips running over the spot, she could feel how hot her skin was underneath.

She tried not to look at her face. Soot, blood and who knows what else made it hard to recognize herself at the moment.

Dani unwrapped the hastily placed gauze from her forearms, careful not to pull it from the skin to avoid re-opening wounds, before stepping into the shower. The steady stream of water flowed down her head, telltale clinking reminding her that she never shook out of hair when she tended to her wounds earlier. She could feel the sting of the hot water hitting the dozen of narrow cuts and scrapes from her scalp to her feet.

She was gentle with herself, carefully soaping up areas she could feel were scraped or sore. Feeling a little lighter, she quickly towelled herself off and changed into a fresh uniform. She didn’t know what to do with the blood-stained, scraped, and dusty one she came in with, so she left it on the bathroom floor for now.

“Doc,” she heard the click of a door opening and Nat’s voice coming from down the hall.

She quickly plaited her wet hair and set it aside, jogging over to meet the voice, finding Natasha sitting in a chair next to the exam table turned bed. Based on their expressions and body language, she felt like she was walking into the middle of a serious conversation. Both were tensely hunched, eyes dark, Clint drenched in sweat, but she was just happy to see her friend awake — even if he was strapped to the bed.

“Dani,” Clint’s raspy voice breathed, and the doctor let go of the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding in her chest.

Fretting about the extent of the mental damage, she had feared her friend may not even recognize her. Dani had been bracing for the worst, but she could barely see a scratch on him looking down at her friend.

“Clint,” she smiled, really smiled, and looking into the blue eyes she missed so much.

She looked over to Natasha to make sure there wasn’t anything she should know, but the spy gave her a curt nod, an all-clear. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t frightened to be in such close proximity to him. He’d attacked every agent sent after him up until now, and here she was about to be just inches away from his face. But, knowing that Natasha was also in the room, she pushed aside her feelings for his, seeing the palpable guilt and fear he felt as she looked at him.

“How are you feeling?”

She started towards the table that her first aid kit was resting on, grabbing the penlight and testing his eyes. He knew the drill; this wasn’t the first concussion she’d ever tested him for. They went through the motions as he answered her question.

“You know, headache, still feel a little like I’m existing in the third person,” he murmured as she rested one of her hands on the side of his face to hold it in place as she worked.

He looked at her like he was waiting for a reaction, but she kept her hand in place in silence.

“Why am I back? How’d you get ’em out?” His voice cracked a little as he spoke.

“Cognitive recalibration,” Natasha chirped from her seat. “I hit you really hard on the head.”

Dani shot her a look, glad her friend had been able to knock Clint out of it but concerned knowing how hard she could hit. The redhead shrugged, unperturbed since it had all worked out in the end. The doctor turned off the penlight and took to feeling around the back of Clint’s head and neck, making sure she couldn’t feel anything unusual. He winced a little as she gently pressed on his forehead.

“Everything feels OK, all things considered,” she said out loud.

“Thanks,” Clint said in a gentle voice, looking at both women in the room.

When she was sure Clint wasn’t going to go berserk, she started unstrapping him from the table, leaving her right hand over his. A small gesture that she trusted him, that she cared. He didn’t shift underneath her, so she curled her fingers into his palm and felt the familiar calluses. She gave a quick squeeze and let go, feeling a flutter in her chest. She was grateful to have him back, even if she couldn’t form the words right now.

His eyes were on the ground, a dead giveaway that something deeper going on in his head. Now wasn’t the time anyway. She allowed herself a couple of seconds of normalcy before stepping back into the role of the clinician.

“Does anywhere else hurt?” Dani’s face was very close to his, searching his expression for any hint of a lie, but he shook his head in response. The doctor looked over at Natasha, sure she’d want some time with her partner. “I’m just going to go put my stuff away and clean up,” she said to both of them, shoving her things into the first aid bag and walking out the door.

She took a breath and let her back hit the wall outside the door. She could still hear the pair inside. Knowing she shouldn’t, she let her hearing wander around into the room before stepping into her own.

“Natasha, how many agents did I…?” His voice sounded strained.

“Don’t. Don’t do that to yourself, Clint.” Natasha’s was more forceful.

She took her leave of the conversation she wasn’t meant to be a part of and flung the heavy bag onto her office floor. It landed with a thud. She scribbled down a few notes on a sticky note and stuck it on Clint’s file for the paperwork she’d have to fill out later, just in case the world didn’t end.

At this point, she’d welcome paperwork, if only it’d mean that everything was back to normal, and that was saying something.

She tried to remember exactly where she had been after the engine failure, noting as many details as she could in sloppy writing. Heavy footsteps coming down the hallway broke her focus, and she popped her head out of her door. The action had long cleared out in the wing of the Helicarrier, and she was half expecting Stark to try to come to find her. Instead, she could see Steve hurrying towards, presumably, Clint’s infirmary room.

She was just about to slink back into her office when he called out to her.

“Doctor Fisher,” he breathed and stopped dead in his tracks. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

He was out of his uniform, wearing a fitted workout top in classic blue. He shared the same harrowed look that most of the Helicarrier staff was sporting, face pulled into a severe look.

She stepped into the hallway and met him with a half-smile, “I could say the same about you.”

“I’m sorry about Agent Coulson,” he said softly, and her eyes dropped to the floor.

“Me too,” she muttered, still feeling uneasy.

He hesitantly took a step forward and softly grabbed her shoulder. Her gaze was suddenly on his hand, wandering back to his face. It looked a lot harder than she remembered back in the SUV with Coulson. Jaw clenched, eyes sharp, she could tell he was hellbent on something - she knew that look well, from Tony. He dropped his hand from her shoulder and stared at the infirmary door.

Steve started after a beat of silence, “Is Barton-?”

“Yeah, he’s awake,” she responded and motioned towards the door as if inviting him in. “He’s OK.”

He nodded and opened up the infirmary door, stepping in on the conversation between the two spies.

“Time to go.”

“Go where?” Dani could hear Natasha’s question.

“I’ll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?”

“I can,” Clint suddenly spoke up.

“You got a suit?”

“Yeah.”

“Then suit up,” Steve ordered, stepping back out of the room and looking back at the doctor. His mouth opened a few times like he hesitated to put the words together, “We should probably clear things up when this is all over with.”

A flicker of a smile appeared on her lips, and she nodded, “Go save the world first, Captain.”

He smiled and shot off a mock salute, turning and heading towards the flight deck.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of  _ him _ ,” Natasha drawled with a smirk from the infirmary door.

“Oh, shut up,” the doctor chided, still trying to cool her cheeks. “Take care of you and Clint. I think Captain America can handle himself.”

“I’m sure he can handle  _ a lot _ of things.”


	10. Ten

“Does anyone know where Stark is?”

Dani wandered into the war room, looking around for any sign of the billionaire. The floor crammed with screens was alive again, and agents rushed around, trying to get everything else in the ship back online. She was just about to turn and cut her losses and when a voice spoke out.

“I think I heard some agents saying he was in storage? Something about fixing his suit?” The doctor recognized Agent Mendes’s voice from earlier and turned to meet his eyes.

“Thanks,” she said, giving him a two-finger salute before taking off running down the hall and through the stairwells toward the storage area.

She looked in each room she passed along the way, just in case, but stopped once she could hear the telltale sound of grinding metal.

She stood in the doorway, watching the sparks fly off the scraped Iron Man helmet in front of him. It brought her back to the comfort of the Malibu house, locked in the basement with only classic rock, Dum-E and his suits. It would take Pepper hours to get through to him, unable to tear himself from his projects. She was lucky if he’d eat the pizza she’d inevitably deliver downstairs.

Dani used to sit in one of the convertibles parked down there. She could picture it now, her ankles crossed and resting on the doors, with her notes and laptop strewn across the back seat. She’d just sit there studying, grading papers or doing school work. Pencil sticking out of her mouth, she was just as guilty as getting sucked into her work as he was, so there they’d work across the room from each other.

It was enough just being around him as he worked. It was their time to bond without actually having to do that whole display of emotions thing.

Since his the Palladium poisoning saga, she knew he’d been even more focussed on his suits. Pair that with Dani starting a SHIELD position, and they were both too busy most days to come up for air. Making excuses, missing calls. So much so that they hadn’t seen or spoken to each other since Christmas, Dani too stubborn to be the one to break down and reach out. Even answering Pepper’s texts had been too much for her most days.

Watching him work now, she felt a lump in her throat, regretting not reaching out sooner.

She’d missed it. She missed the 2 AM phone calls, random packages showing up at her door with gifts that were sweet but way too expensive, and girls’ nights in with Pepper. She missed having a confidant who she could just bitch about work to — using vague wording, of course.

Tony Stark was much too nosey for her to mention details, even in passing. He  _ had _ just hacked SHIELD’s database on a hunch, after all.

His eyes were focussed, lips pressed in a firm line. It wasn’t until he finished, setting aside the tool and his visor, that he noticed the brunette standing in front of him. He gulped and stepped away from the table, walking towards her. She took off in a jog to confront him, heart pounding as she flung her arms around him and hugged tightly, feeling the arc reactor in the embrace. He hoisted her off the floor slightly, breathing deeply into the crook of her neck. It was a mess of “I’m sorry,” sniffles and tears between the two. Dani could barely breathe, and she could feel Tony shaking slightly, so she loosened her hold a bit.

“We’re going to get him, we’re going to fix this,” Tony firmly said in her ear. “We’ll get him for Phil.”

She could hear the determination in his voice, booming in his chest as he spoke. This was the Tony Stark that was willing to do anything to solve a problem. This was the Tony Stark that, as his sister, scared her a little bit.

“I know,” she breathed in a small voice. Clearing her throat and finding her voice again, she added, “Just come home safe, OK? Pepper, and I need you.”

He held her at arm’s length, brown eyes softening as he stared into hers and smiled, “I promise.”

His hands dropped back to his own side, staring back at the helmet on the table behind him before he started walking back towards it. Her gaze followed his, and she could see pieces of his suit scattered around his work area, large silver scrapes furnishing every edge of the armour.

“By the way…” Even though she was slightly concerned about the answer, she had to ask, “What happened to your suit?”

He chuckled and flashed her a patented Tony Stark smile as he wiped down a metal glove with a nearby rag.

“Got stuck in the engine,” he said as if it was nothing. “Blame old man Rogers.”

Her eyebrows shot up in realization as she started piecing together how his day had gone, “Please tell me you’re going to be safe flying in that.”

He shrugged, knocking his knuckles on the helmet’s metal, “I built it to take a beating.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not the kind you had in mind when you built it,” she shot back with a grin and an eye roll.

He didn’t reply, too busy wiping down his wrenches, deep in thought. Dani recognized his usual cool-down routine, the point in his time with the machines when he turned down his music and just processed everything. It was usually around now that he’d come up with some realization his mind was too busy to connect the dots on while he worked. He’d frantically rush over to his monitor or notes and scribble something down for later.

“If you’re sticking around New York after this,” he said softly, interrupting her thoughts, “there’s always room in the tower for you.”

Her wide eyes met his at his sudden admission, “Oh, really?”

“Yeah, I mean,” he said, his voice even softer than before. “I didn’t exactly get the chance to show you around, but I set aside a suite for you. You know, in the planning process.”

“Sure, the planning process,” she could have rolled her eyes at the flimsy pretence. “Pepper’s idea?” Dani asked, knowing she had been behind most of the building design and zoning.

“No, mine. It’s better than you grabbing a hotel anytime you want to join for dinner,” he replied with a smile. “And I’m sure way better than whatever dinky condo SHIELD’s got you in.”

Dani was shocked he would admit to it, and with a pang, she realized that he must have been planning this for a while. Like herself, Tony had difficulty putting feelings into words, but he was clearly still thinking of her, even between the missed phone calls, unanswered texts and ditched dinners.

Is this what having a family was like? She wouldn’t know, but now she was starting to think she’d like to find out.

“That’s really, that sounds…” She cleared her throat, suddenly uncomfortable with the situation, “Well, let’s make sure there’s a tower to come back to first.”

The corner of his lip quirked up in a knowing smile, and he nodded, “Be safe, kid.”

“You too.”

Walking back from the storage area, Dani knew what she had to do next. She stopped by her office, replenishing the supplies in her first aid kit before zipping it back up. If they weren’t already, she and this kit were about to be terrific friends.

Making her way to the war room, she found Hill and Fury looking out the windows and into the sky.

“Director,” she addressed. “Agent Hill.”

They gave her a wordless glance in return, clearly focussed on something else. She followed their gaze and watched as a rogue Quinjet took off from the ship, a streak of red and gold following close behind. If it wasn’t so tense in the war room, she would have smiled, knowing her brother and her friends would do this. One way or another, Loki and his army were going down.

“So they found him?” Fury asked her firmly, no context needed.

She shrugged, “Seems like it.”

“I want eyes on everything,” he told Hill before turning back to her. “Doctor, as of right now, you report to Agent Hill.”

“Understood, Director,” she replied before quickly adding, “But I think we both know I’m of no use up here.”

The two looked at her expectantly.

“If Loki’s got an army, there’s going to be a lot of damage down there, a lot of innocent civilians. Let me help out the med team with an emergency response on the ground,” she said as professionally as she could. “I can’t just sit here, I’ve got to get down there and help however I can,” she tripped over her words a bit, hurrying to explain before they could shoot down her idea.

She waited for them to firmly decline her offer, write it off as someone who felt guilty about the day’s events. But the “no” never came, and Hill only thought about it for a few seconds before she spoke.

“We do need an on-the-ground response team,” Hill mused, looking at the Director. “It’s protocol.”

She and Fury looked at each other, and he nodded before Hill pressed a button on her earpiece.

“Rumlow, assemble a STRIKE team, grab an operational Quinjet, gather whoever’s in medical and get down there for emergency ground support.”

Hill let go of the button and looked at the doctor, “Wheels up in ten.”


	11. Eleven

“Each medic will be accompanied by a STRIKE team member on the ground. Pairs still stay in the line of sight at all times.”

Brock Rumlow was standing at the head of the QuinJet, listing off instructions for the ground to the dozen SHIELD agents in front of him. Behind him, the New York City skyline was just coming into view. Rumlow was going over tactical specifics with STRIKE when something changed behind him - the pilots were frantically radioing in.

Without warning, a white stream of light burst through the sky above Stark Tower. The chattering of medics and STRIKE agents was all Dani could hear as they all watched the sky open up, and invaders started streaming out. Like moths to a flame, they spiralled around the tower, some escaping toward street level while others erupted in small explosions that made her jaw clench. She saw a familiar streak of red and gold in the sky and knew Tony was taking those things alone.

After a word with the pilots, Rumlow finished up, “It’s go time, folks.”

The QuinJet made a quick landing at HQ’s pad, and everyone streamed out quietly. They lingered on the roof, pairing up and going over logistics.

“Doc, I’ve got you,” she turned towards the familiar voice and saw Rollins jogging up to meet her, just as she remembered him from days ago.

Was it already days? She was losing track.

She smiled, comforted that at least it was someone familiar, “Got our location?”

“Yep,” he replied, turning his phone towards her and showing her the route. “You lead, I’ll have your six,” he said. “Your earpiece is looped to mine, so radio in if you spot something.”

She gave him a thumbs up. Even from the rooftop, the city was already starting to get loud. It was still early, she knew that, the calm before the storm. Shaking out her hands and arms, she tried to get herself back into the right headspace for whatever she was about to see on the ground. She pushed aside her feelings, her worries, and her thoughts heading back into her clinician headspace. She was at work now, and it was her job to help people, she reminded herself.

After all, Tony and the rest of the team were more than capable of taking care of themselves.

They hit the elevator before the others paired off, leaving them alone in the tight space. Rollins was still as a statue beside her, all muscles and brooding, but she could tell from the twitch in his face that he was itching to say something.

Dani was starting to think Rollins was uncomfortable with silence.

“You ever done one of these before?”

He was looking more smug than concerned, and Dani had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She tried to remember that she was still the new kid to most of the rest of the team at SHIELD, but the truth was, this wasn’t her first on-the-ground emergency support mission.

So, instead, she replied simply, “I was in Harlem last year.”

“No shit,” Rollins’s eyebrows shot up. “They really fed you to the wolves.”

“They needed all the help they could get,” she shrugged.

Her first month at SHIELD was right here in NYC. A creature they called the ‘Abomination’ had torn through the city, leaving destruction in its wake. She’d only been employed for a week or two, but when shit hit the fan, it was really all hands on deck. There were no protocols or contingencies in place at the time for that level of destruction.

If she was honest, even now, they were hazy. This was pretty new territory for the world; never mind SHIELD.

Like this mission, Harlem was a hasty operation with cobbled-together team members, including herself, who was trained in basic first aid but had never seen  _ that _ kind of action before. There were a lot of casualties, both on and off the books. Explosions, car fires, collapsed buildings. It was a long night, from what she could remember, and an even longer clean up effort.

But Dani picked things up quick that night. Shadowing the more experienced medical team, she learned a lot of things you couldn’t get from your typical first-aid course — battlefield first aid, they called it. When you had to get scrappy with resources and time. She saw things people only learn and resort to when a person is screaming in pain in front of you.

Deep breaths.

She had to remind herself to keep breathing as Rollins, and she got to the ground floor and started jogging through the building. Just looking out the front window of the lobby, she knew it had started. People were racing through the streets, cars toppled, some on fire, as the roads were riddled with craters and debris. She sped ahead and out the door, looking back to make sure Rollins was following her.

Arms drawn, he was at the ready.

There were many distractions; yelling, QuinJets overheard, she thought she could make out Tony’s suit among the skyscrapers, but she tried to push it to the back of her mind. She had to keep her eyes sharp and her ear to the sounds at street level. It only took them a block out before they spotted people huddled around a kid. He must have been about 8 years old, covered in dust and leg drenched in blood. Back a yard away, she could already see exposed bone.

“Two o’clock, injured child. Heading over,” she signalled over comms to Rollins behind her, receiving a sharp 10-4. “Medic!” She called out into the crowd, which started to disperse and allow her through.

She bent down to eye level, trying to make sure he was still alert and talking. Thankfully he was, and she diligently worked to splint his leg as he was held in place by his mother. The explosions and shots from the aliens were becoming more frequent, and she could hear Rollins fire off some shots himself, yelling directions for civilians to take cover in nearby buildings. A couple quick of instructions to his mother, and they were off again.

Block by block, it was slow and methodical work. Sometimes Dani would get flagged down by people on the street; other times, she’d be ducking in alleyways after spotting someone herself. Rollins was quick to flag any nearby attacks over comms for her. Keeping her covered as she worked as quickly as her hands would let her. He even tackled her out of the way at one point to avoid a falling concrete structure. Skidding along the asphalt, she’d never been so happy to have her shin scraped before.

She thanked him wholeheartedly once the breath returned to her lungs.

She kept pace out ahead of him when they passed by a storefront with a TV mounted in the window. She couldn’t even make out the nameplate on the store; all she could see in the frame of a newscast was a close-up of that red and gold armour, speeding toward space.

With a nuke.

And suddenly, uncomfortably tossed into deja vu, Dani was 23 again, in a shitty coffee shop in Amherst, NY. Some grimy, family-owned place in the middle of suburbia, the type that had the best food but the most impatient waitstaff. She was refreshing her inbox absentmindedly, waiting for an email from admissions. One she had been waiting for a few weeks now.

She could still feel that pulsing, thudding anxiety in her chest. She could still smell the stale coffee.

In the corner of her eye, the 16” TV mounted to the wall flashed a breaking news alert. And suddenly, her brother’s face was plastered across the screen. Tony Stark had been kidnapped by the Ten Rings.

Her brother, Tony Stark. The same Tony Stark she had only had in her life for the past year.

_ He was as good as dead. _

“Fisher, what the fuck?”

Rollin’s voice shook her out of the memory.

He jogged up beside her, clearly concerned as to why the usually quick Doctor was standing in the middle of the street, staring at seemingly nothing. She motioned toward the screen, watching as the hole in the sky started to close. Those horrible seconds, waiting for her brother to finally turn around and make it out of the wormhole, her hands were ice.

There was still no sign of him.

All she could hear was clattering beside her as she watched the sky return to blue.

It was all too familiar. Her head was swimming.

No, this couldn’t be happening again.

It wasn’t until Rollins shoved her out of the way that she realized something — aliens, in fact — was falling from the sky. Heaps of  _ things _ were seemingly decommissioned, dropped dead on the roadways, sidewalks and cars around them. She was still trying to catch her footing when Rollins pulled her out of the way of another falling body. All she could focus on doing was scrambling to try to get a glance at the TV for anything.

Any sign of life.

The dust hadn’t settled yet; it was impossible to find.

“Oh shit,” Rollins growled and, looking at his expression, she followed his gaze straight up into the sky.

They could see the top of Stark Tower where they stood and see the black speck falling to earth.

Her heart was racing, mouth dry. Unsure whether she should be cheering or crying.

She finally spotted the TV again and watched as his armour hurtled down to the ground lifelessly. Her breath hitched as the camera started panning to where he’d fall. She couldn’t look, she couldn’t watch this again.

She turned her head away from the screen, tears threatening to spill over.

“We need to get to Stark Tower,” She was shocked to hear Rollins bark beside her, finger to his ear.

She nodded breathlessly, breaking into the closest thing she could get to a run ahead of him, not wanting him to see her face.

Dani’s heart was thudding in her chest, blood pulsing in her ears as she prayed. She prayed he was alright; she prayed she wasn’t running towards her brother’s dead body. She begged to whoever would hear her frantic thoughts in the sky.

Before they rounded the next corner, she could hear the people cheering from some building on the block. She didn’t know which one. She didn’t need to. She slowed down slightly, just enough to hear the excitement in their voices. “Iron Man, Iron Man,” the chanting was making its way down the block, and people were starting to shuffle onto the streets again from the battered buildings.

She let the tears she’d been keeping back fall, and let the breath she had been holding in run ragged past her lips, thankful Rollins was still a couple yards behind her.

He did it.


	12. Twelve

It took them about twenty minutes to make it to the tower by foot. Rollins kept pace beside her, still armed in case, looking over at her every so often as if he was waiting for her to stop and ask for a break.

Truth be told, Dani was running out of breath as the adrenaline started to wear off, but she was determined not to stop now.

The streets were a mess. They wove through a steady stream of people emerging from their hiding spots in the neighbouring buildings. Ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles were starting to make their way back to street level. Sirens echoed through the streets. Dodging abandoned cars, debris, and bodies, Dani and Rollins just tried to stay out of the way.

This was not the New York City the doctor loved, but it was a version she was familiar with.

A block away, she could spot the media circus circled around the entrance, security placing barricades on the sidewalks to keep traffic flow to a minimum. Rollins flagged the security guard a few yards out, and he signalled them in.

A group of STRIKE members were already huddled in the lobby, obviously restless. Checking watches, pacing, tapping feet, the whole works. She could overhear them saying they needed clearance to head upstairs and that they were waiting for a package.

“Listen,” Rollins called out to her with a severe look. “You’ll want to wait here so we can head back to the Helicarrier together.”

She looked between him, the horde of STRIKE uniforms in the lobby, and the elevators. She knew she’d be safe with them, even safer up in the air on the Helicarrier. That was never in question. But, looking back out through the lobby windows, she knew the city was a wreck. There were still people trapped in buildings, too many casualties, injuries, and distress calls for NY emergency personnel to take on alone.

There was no way she was heading back now.

“I’ll catch a ride back in the morning from HQ. I think there’s work that still needs to be done on the ground,” she said, looking him in the eyes.

Rollins stared at her, forehead wrinkling, “You did your time, Doc. They have a clean-up crew for that.”

She smiled but ignored his comment, her mind already made up.

“Thanks for today, Rollins,” she patted him on the shoulder, meaning every word.

He nodded, eyebrows still cocked, and he watched her head toward the hallway of elevators. She sucked in a breath, pressed the button and hopped onto one, the STRIKE agent looking at her curiously.

One stop left.

“Please don’t lock me out, please don’t lock me out,” she muttered to herself under her breath, eyes closed. “Jarvis, bring me up to Tony’s suite,” She said decisively, projecting above the chatter trailing in from the hallway

“Right away, Doctor Fisher,” the AI replied methodically.

She sighed as the doors closed, relieved that not only had Tony not locked her out via JARVIS, he even updated her title. After a few seconds of silence, which she savoured while she could, the elevator rang, doors opening to the whole team staring back at her.

“Dani!”

“What are you even doing here?”

“Have you been running around the city this whole time?”

Ignoring the team’s greetings and questions, she broke into a broad smile, running towards her brother and enveloping him in a hug. She could see the puff of dust jump off her uniform with the momentum of the embrace, but she didn’t care. Feeling him flinch slightly in her grasp, Dani felt terrible for possibly hurting him.

But he kind of deserved it for giving everyone that scare.

“You fucking idiot,” she admonished, her throat tight. “You did it.”

“Language,” he chided in an unsteady voice in her ear. He squirmed out of her grip, uncomfortable with the public display and smiled, “I told you I would.”

She stared at him for a beat, just taking his dust-covered t-shirt, the scratches on his face, his bleary eyes, trying to commit it to memory.

She didn’t want to forget this moment.

Clapping him on the back, proud of him, she walked toward Clint and Nat, already conversing with the resident God of Thunder. She placed her hand on the archer, leaning into him a bit before patting his shoulder. He looked a hell of a lot better than when she last saw him. Maybe it was a sense of relief, but his eyes were back to their familiar blue hue as he laughed along at Thor’s story.

Nat also looked better. They were both a little beat up, but they seemed relaxed, jovial even as they traded tales.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” the tall blond man started, breaking her focus on her friends. “I am Thor Odinson, of Asgard.”

Looking at him, Dani suddenly felt like she was dreaming, like the classic angelic movie filter was overlaid on the scene. Did she pass out and not notice? She’d have to admit to Nat later that she was right about the fairy tale being standing in front of her, all blond hair and muscles.

Scratch that.

Stealing a glance at the spy from the corner of her eye, she could tell she was already gloating.

“Uh, I’m Danielle Fisher, but you can call me Dani,” she managed to blurt out, realizing her answer was a beat too slow.

Smooth.

“Oh, so he gets to call you  _ Dani _ , huh, Doc?” She could hear Clint snickering in her ear from beside her.

Thankfully Thor didn’t notice his jab or was too polite to bring it up.

She looked over at everyone gathered in the room. They looked so different from the angry, bickering horde she witnessed on the Helicarrier. They were smiling, laughing with each other. They were riding high on the victory, and they deserved it. She took a quick inventory of their injuries, mostly scrapes and cuts, nothing they couldn’t handle themselves with some Polysporin and bandages.

Dani was debating slipping out quietly, wondering how she was going to explain to them that she still had work to do.

“You going back out there?” Clint was suddenly in front of her, Nat and Steve at his side.

He stared at the first aid bag she kept shifting between her hands, and the redhead gave her a knowing look.

“You’re what?” Tony squawked from across the room. “You just got back!”

It was five hours later when Dani returned to Stark Tower, covered head to foot in who knows what.

Her feet were aching, blisters already formed and torn on her heel and the ball of her foot. She could feel something in her ankle, probably sprained from climbing up uneven ground. The joints in her hands ached, and they were so swollen she wasn’t confident she’d be able to stitch herself up at this point.

Hunger was long gone. She couldn’t recall what she ate last or even if she had eaten that day.

What day was it again?

“I’ve been instructed to send you to your suite, Doctor Fisher,” JARVIS’s robotic tone cut through her train of thought.

“Thank you, JARVIS,” she managed to reply, too tired to ask the AI where Tony was.

She got her answer when the elevator doors opened.

“Welcome home,” Tony said, standing in front of an open suite door.

His smile faltered a bit at the sight of her, but she walked off the elevator and toward the door. She deposited her bag on the floor as soon as her feet crossed the threshold. It clattered, letting off some of the dust and debris collected on top of it. She felt lighter already, but she could feel Tony staring.

“Are you OK?”

She was starting to get really sick of people asking that.

“I promise I’m better than I look,” she said and tried to pull together a smile. “What about you?”

“I’m just glad you’re back,” he said feebly. “I’m glad  _ I’m _ back.”

“Me too,” she agreed. She didn’t want to push him on it, so she settled on a bit of humour, “I’d hug you, but I don’t know exactly what I managed to get into out there.”

“I’ll give you a tour and then off to the shower with you,” Tony said with a chuckle.

The suite was beautiful. It was set up with some furniture (likely sourced by Pepper), a couch, a king-sized bed, a table and chairs. She could barely take it in; her mind was still whirling, trying to process the last few days.

“Thank you, Tony,” she said as they finally reached the bathroom. “For everything.”

He nodded, knowing she meant a lot more than the suite.

Sticking his hands in his pockets, he turned back to face her, “Are you sticking around?”

She had to think about it. She’d barely thought of anything beyond cleaning herself off.

“Gotta head to the office tomorrow morning and see if they want me back on the Helicarrier — not sure what’s going on with the whole thing,” she admitted, rubbing her hands over her face in frustration. “I guess that’s what happens when your boss dies in the line of duty.”

She wanted to smile, brush it off, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so. Tony just stared at her, not knowing how to even respond to that. She felt guilty for putting that on him, realizing he had his own shit to deal with.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” she said in a low voice. “I’m kind of fucked up right now.”

Not even looking him in the eyes, she could already see the wobble in his expression, mirroring her own. Ignoring the filth she was covered in, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled tightly. His fingers dug into her fresh bruises, but she didn’t mind it. This closeness, this feeling, she didn’t even realize how much she missed it until it was almost taken away from her. She let her head drop to the side, leaning it on his shoulder.

A couple stray tears escaped, clinging to her jawline before falling to the floor.

“I know, kid. Me too,” he took a deep breath and rubbed her back. “We’ll get through this.”

As fucked up as they both were, as uncertain as everything was, as much as Tony was lying through his teeth, Dani felt like she could breathe for the first time in days. Maybe not sleep, at least not much, but breathe.

And right now, that was enough for her.

[ _ End of work _ ]

**Author's Note:**

> A million thanks for reading. 
> 
> This story doesn't end here! As a thank you for making it this far, and for all the support, the first chapter of the next part of this series is already up.
> 
> All comments and kudos are loved and cherished.  
> You can also find me on [tumblr](https://pasmonblog.tumblr.com/), where I post a lot of Hawkeye content, work updates, and behind-the-scenes commentary.


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